11/11/11

Putting Penn State In Its Place

Last night on John Stewart's The Daily Show, I viewed what was likely one of the boldest pieces of talk show history I have seen in my lifetime. It was incredibly moving to me, even though it was an incredibly brief segment. Basically, as you watch below, you will see John Stewart call the Penn State students out for what he reveals to be a display of selfish ignorance. The last line, again, one of the most poignant statements I've ever heard on television was riveting. He said this about the students who were rioting over coach Paterno losing his job, as for your Saturday game against Nebraska, "No one's going to take that away because obviously, you're young and that would be a traumatic experience, and we wouldn't want that memory to scar you for life."

The power of this comment is found in its irony. The students took to the streets when Paterno got fired. Really, though, the Penn State students should have been rioting over the fact that 40 counts of criminal activity, including the repeatedly covered-up child molestations by the coaching staff and school, scarred at least eight young boys for life. What was taken away from them was their childhood innocence; what was taken from them was their hopes of being able to trust and let someone care for them. These children were scarred for life! That should NEVER be taken from a child. Yet, these college students were rioting because they feel that "Coach Pa" should not have been fired. That this firing or their football program getting shut down for the remainder of the season would somehow scar them for life is absurd. It only reveals the sense of selfish entitlement and immaturity that is pervasive in this country and in our institutions of higher education. The outrage is misplaced, in other words. The sad thing is, the answer in remedying it appears to be nowhere in sight!